


Every Current, Every Wave

by seungjin_chan



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, also some moana element, at least I think it's light, basically any disney with water now that i'm realizing it, little mermaid and frozen elements, pls lov it anyway, sorcery, yes i have failed myself, yes it is chaptered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:11:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23408083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungjin_chan/pseuds/seungjin_chan
Summary: Every year, Seungmin would sneak out of the castle during his birthday celebration to go to the old, unused dock by the shore for a few hours of freedom and solitude.And every year, without fail, there he would find a pretty, blue seashell waiting for him—a gift he holds more valuable than any amount of gold his kingdom could ever possess.—(Clickhereto watch the trailer!)
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 70
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is one (1) year and three months old. it went like this.
> 
> discovered alan walker's **[intro](https://open.spotify.com/track/7dcmZskqXONZuIuqGRLJ1C?si=9eBesdcRT7SNwfKowl7OqQ)** last december 2018 > brain immediately thought: mERMAIDS > practically finished a whole fic in my head by march 2019 > wanted to finish **[cpmt&ps](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882998)** first > made a **[poll](https://twitter.com/seungjin_chan/status/1173673335550439424?s=19)** on twitter last september 2019 > edited a trailer > only then started writing
> 
> this is probably the first fic i've ever felt challenged ~~and sort of Struggled~~ to write because it was difficult to keep it Not Modern sounding without running out of words and i think aside from my attention span of a goldfish, that's also a huge factor in this fic's delay,,
> 
> nevertheless, thank you so so much to everyone who waited and looked forward to this fic!! i've been _so_ excited to share this with everyone and i actually feel pretty proud of it so i really hope you enjoy reading!
> 
> here's chapter 1 with 10.1k words! ♡

"Your Highness."

The stern voice echoing within the empty foyer's walls makes Seungmin's hasty steps come to a stop, left foot still up on the last step of the staircase while his right has already planted itself onto the carpeted floor, the lamp in his hand dangling from the abrupt loss of momentum.

It only takes him a second to realize it's his personal butler, and he takes the last step with a relieved breath, turning around and looking up to see the man standing at the top of the staircase, a knowing look on his face.

"I am aware you shall be granted less restriction to leave the castle once you've come of age, sir, but can this not wait until tomorrow?"

"No, it cannot," he responds immediately. "The tides are high tonight."

"But the guests—"

"I've spoken to them all," he reassures. "No one will notice this time."

The man above him looks contemplative for a brief moment before he sighs. "Very well. Please return to the castle before midnight. And refrain from arriving not a minute too soon."

Seungmin fails to hide his smile at the last statement. "I promise there will be plenty of time for you and I, Minho. You may wait for me in my room after the party."

"I assure you that is not what I intended for it to mean."

"And remember to bring us some pastry."

Minho pats on his coat along his left chest, lips curved up into a small grin. "Already have them, Your Highness."

Seungmin grins back, grateful, before turning and resuming his journey towards the tall, wooden doors, pushing them open as quietly as possible and stepping outside. He gives Minho a little wave from the space between the doors before closing them again carefully, turning around and making his way past the castle guards with a nod in acknowledgement, the two men having already been accustomed to his annual routine to keep it a secret from the king.

Though, it isn't something he deems worthy of being reprimanded for; he simply goes to the unused dock, picks up the seashell there, and he sits down for a while for some peace, keeping the sea company as a sign of his gratitude.

The first time he encountered a shell on the exact same place was when he turned seven.

It had been the very first year his mother was not there to celebrate his birthday. As little as he was as a child, he was able to easily sneak out of the castle to walk along the shore and settle himself at the far end of the wooden dock by the sea, wondering if his mother would come back—if he just waited long enough.

Recalling the memory now, it might not have been very long since he started waiting at all, but he ended up crying there by himself soon enough, fists messily wiping away at his tears as he quietly kept calling out to his mother who never came.

Aside from his own soft sobs and hiccups, though, it had been relatively quiet enough for him to hear the sudden noise of something landing atop the wood he'd been sitting on—and rather than it sounding like the waves have carried it there by sheer chance, it almost seemed as if something was carefully placed in front of him.

Immediately, he uncurled himself and crawled towards the object, eyes blinking away his tears until his vision turned clear again, catching sight of a seashell—a pretty, blue olive shell, laying flat atop the wooden surface.

No one else had been around; there was no ship or boat anywhere nearby, but he was, after all, still a child. So when he took the shell into his hands, he believed it was from his mother.

It started raining soon after, however, and just as he got back up on his feet to head back to the castle, he jumped in surprise at the sudden, loud roar of thunder, causing his seashell to slip out of his small hands and drop back into the water—and even then, he knew he couldn't risk jumping into the sea to retrieve it.

He cried himself to sleep that night.

The day he turned eight was the only time he could come back there again, despite having long since learned what it truly meant, when his father told him his mother wasn't ever coming back.

But, that night, when he arrived at the end of the dock, the exact same seashell had been sitting there, waiting for him, alongside one more shell—a slightly bigger, beautiful blue conch shell.

Seungmin was eight, when he started believing they were gifts from the sea.

The sound of the crashing waves reaches his ears on his way out of the castle grounds and towards the shore, his dress shoes sinking a little further down into the white sand as he quickens his pace, front teeth gnawing at his lower lip in worry.

For the past twelve years since, by some kind of miracle, never had he not received a gift, and never did he let himself lose another. He isn't about to let the high tides wash it off before he gets to take it now.

As the dock comes into view, however, despite the thick fog surrounding the area, he spots a shadow—a slim figure of a man from afar, emerging from the water and placing what he assumes to be a seashell atop the wooden surface, and Seungmin's eyes widen.

Immediately, he starts sprinting his way towards the dock, cursing quietly under his breath when he sees the figure already submerging back into the water, before picking up his pace.

He reaches there perhaps a minute too late, head whipping from left to right to look out for the mysterious man, brows knitted in worry, because he _must_ have resurfaced by now if he doesn't want to drown.

He glances down, and sure enough, placed down by his feet is a blue, cerith seashell the size of his palm, as if it were really meant for him to take.

His head perks back up when he hears a splash, alert, immediately turning towards the direction of the sound, and when he sees the silhouette of the man beneath the water, he doesn't think twice and sets his lamp down—and he dives in.

It's cold and it's dark, the faint light of the moon barely helping him see underwater even as his eyes start to adjust, but he swims where he can recall having seen the man's shadow and he searches.

And then, he stops.

Floating perfectly still before his eyes is a boy; a pretty, giggling boy, surrounded by a school of fish swimming around him in circles, and he's left mesmerized by the sight for a moment—until he realizes that the boy had a tail. Of a fish.

The boy had a tail of a fish.

Much to his intelligence, he gasps in shock and forgets that he's fully submerged into the sea, immediately clamping his mouth shut and covering it with a hand, the water in his lungs threatening to choke him up and he _struggles,_ unable to swim back up to the surface for air as he suffocates.

The last thing he feels are arms being wrapped around his shoulders, and the last thing he sees is a pair of shining, blue eyes, much like the sea.

Seungmin wakes up coughing and sputtering out seawater, his upper half violently jerking all the while, before he weakly heaves himself up on his elbows with a huff of breath, exhausted, and—

And when he comes to his senses, he sees a stunningly beautiful boy's face hovering over his, looking at him with big, worried eyes—bright, _blue_ eyes, and he shoots up right away, recalling the shadow from the dock and the boy from underwater.

The boy moves back in surprise at the sudden action, but soon, he looks relieved, brows uncreasing and facial features relaxing, letting out a silent breath.

Seungmin notices the boy's damp, dark hair, adorned with what seems to resemble a crown atop his head, except it wasn't made of gold and jewels; instead, vines and various, blue seashells—small and almost tiny, but when he takes a closer look, they were the spitting image of the shells Seungmin had been collecting and keeping back at the castle all these years.

His eyes trail from the boy's head to his bare torso, and then, down to his tail.

His only source of light is the moon and his small lamp, still settled on the surface beside the cerith seashell, but he sees it clearly: the glistening, royal blue scales, the pair of large, translucent tailfins hanging over the edge of the dock—pretty, and ruffled at the ends.

_Merpeople._

He's read several myths about them before at the castle library. He's seen illustrations of them in novels and books, even, but none of them were anywhere near stunning as the one in front of him.

Seungmin's eyes land back on the boy's face, and he finds himself once again mesmerized.

Indeed, he adores the sea—but he thinks he adores the ocean he sees in the merboy's eyes much, much more.

It takes him a moment to notice the merboy is already shifting his gaze from side to side, looking uncertain, and by the time he realizes the fact that he had, in fact, been rudely staring at him the entire time, the merboy is already diving back into the water.

"No—wait, please!" he scrambles towards the edge of the dock on his knees, hands gripping onto the wood as he looks out for the merboy below, and soon, he hears a quiet, little splash.

When he whips his head to the right, he spots the merboy submerged halfway into the water, hiding behind one of the wooden pillars and peeking over at him shyly.

 _Ah._ The merboy was... embarrassed.

Perhaps Seungmin is a little endeared.

"Forgive me for staring," he apologizes, voice soft. "You are quite the beautiful one."

The merboy stills for a second, doe eyes blinking up at him curiously, before he carefully swims back towards him and settles by the waters right below him, giving Seungmin a tiny, bashful smile. He sees the merboy opening his mouth and pausing, before closing it again, looking a little troubled.

Seungmin tilts his head. "Can... you speak?"

The merboy perks his head up and nods vigorously. Seungmin briefly wonders how the crown hasn't fallen off from the action. "But... you can't, at the moment?"

Again, he nods, and then he looks troubled once more, lightly drifting from one place to another, as if he were pacing in the water while he vaguely moved his hands about.

Seungmin thinks for a moment, trying to recall everything he's read about the merpeople, before he suddenly raises his brows and asks, "Have you perhaps traded your voice for a pair of human legs?"

The merboy abruptly stops pacing, glancing up at him with furrowed brows matched with an entertained smile tugging up the corners of his lips, a mix of confused and amused. Seungmin falters a tiny bit, embarrassed, wondering if the myths and stories he had been reading all these years would, in reality, sound ridiculous to an actual merboy.

With a silent, adorable giggle, the merboy shakes his head.

Seungmin lets out a huff of breath, defeated, placing himself so that his legs are dangling over the edge of the dock before reaching for his lamp and setting it down beside him, wanting to see the merboy more clearly.

He purses his lips thoughtfully. He can still ask questions as long as it could be a yes or a no.

He turns to look at the lone, cerith seashell at his side and carefully takes it into his hands, fingers gingerly running along its slightly jagged expanse before he once again meets the merboy's eyes—piercing and blue, resembling the shell's colour so enchantingly.

"The seashells," he pauses, briefly glancing at the merboy's crown and back at him. "Have they been from you, all along?"

The merboy smiles and nods, arms reaching up to hold onto the edge of the dock and hoisting himself up near Seungmin's hands, head carefully leaning towards it, and, to Seungmin's surprise, a tiny cerith shell—one just like the shell in his hand—starts glowing from the merboy's crown.

He holds his breath at the sight, eyes widening in wonder as the merboy's own blue eyes begin to glow as well, staring up at him with such soft, adoring gaze.

"Oh," he breathes out in a whisper, watching the merboy curl his lips up into a gentle smile before letting go of his grip on the dock, submerging his lower half back into the water.

"How did you—" he pauses. Only yes or no. "Do you leave them for me because you know of my birthday?"

The merboy stills for a second, gaze shifting towards the side as his delicate fingers reach up to tuck some of his hair behind his ear in this adorable, shy manner, nodding slowly.

Perhaps Seungmin is much more than a little endeared.

"I... Thank you," he whispers, having to hold himself back from reaching down to touch the merboy's face, when the latter meets his gaze again and smiles a happy smile in response.

And he must have been staring for a while, because it takes him a moment to realize it when the merboy starts slowly swimming backwards, away from the dock, giving him an apologetic look. Seungmin abruptly shoots upright. "Wait, must you go now? So soon?"

The merboy nods, glancing up at the moon and back at him. Indeed, it _is_ getting late; he will soon have to return to the castle as well.

Seungmin hastily gets up on his feet, seashell still held securely in his hands. "Tomorrow, before sunset—may I see you again, please?"

At that, the merboy seems to brighten up, nodding eagerly and giving him a happy little wave before fully turning around and swimming further away, his scales shining and his delicate, pretty tailfins glimmering under the moonlight as he finally dives back into the water.

Seungmin is twenty-one, when he starts believing the merboy _is_ the gift from the sea.

"Are you certain you weren't simply hallucinating, Your Highness," Minho states more than he questions, an amused smile on his lips as he picks up an eclair from the plate set down on the silver tray, which was placed at the center of Seungmin's large bed, where they had been sitting cross-legged across each other.

"Ich heungn," Seungmin answers incoherently, his mouth still full of bread; an unrefined demeanour of his that only his butler could ever come to witness. (In addition, his hair is sticking up in various directions from his refusal to have his hair combed after his bath anymore, wanting to eat pastries with Minho right away.)

The latter holds back an eyeroll, seemingly having understood his words anyway before reaching over to wipe the corner of Seungmin's mouth with his thumb. "Fine, Seungmin. Ah, really, have you no decency?"

Seungmin shrugs nonchalantly, swallowing the bread and taking his glass of milk before chugging down half of the liquid and setting it back down on the silver tray. "I was not hallucinating. The merboy is as real as you and I—" he stops short, knitting his brows slightly. "Well. I must say his beauty is quite... unreal, however. But he _is_ real, Minho."

"Must I bathe you again for you to wake up? With cold water, perhaps?"

"I dislike you."

"I love you."

Seungmin huffs and pushes his lips out sulkily, grumbling. "I love you, too."

Minho chuckles and takes a bite out of his eclair, a victorious grin on his face.

"You could at least be grateful I returned with hours to spare."

"Why, yes, I am grateful. However, I did have to spend the first half hour bathing you, so..."

"Quiet. I don't recall ever asking you to."

"You also went on about this imaginary merboy the entire time..."

"He is not—"

Minho lets out a laugh, head shaking in amusement before flashing him a soft smile. "A happy birthday to you, my prince."

Seungmin falters for a moment, blinking before biting into a lemon tart and mumbling a soft _'thank you,'_ hiding a smile.

He chooses not to mention the merboy any longer then, happily spending his birthday the way he always has with Minho, but a pair of beautiful, blue eyes still lingers in the very back of his mind throughout the whole night.

When Seungmin returns to the castle in the afternoon the next day, tired after a long journey to and from the city, he hears soft taps on his window as soon as he steps into his room and closes the door.

Knitting his brows, he slowly approaches the window and pushes the curtains aside—before blinking in surprise at the sight of a pigeon standing in the middle of the windowsill, holding something in its beak.

 _Odd,_ he thinks, as he carefully opens the window, letting the pigeon quickly fly into his room and settle onto his desk. He's never had mail delivered straight to his room by the pigeons before.

He walks towards the bird and recognizes the mail to be, in fact, a dried leaf—presumably from a banana tree, and he gently takes it from its beak, turning it over before widening his eyes slightly, brows raising to his forehead.

_I shall await your arrival until sunset._

Soon, his surprise is replaced by delight, immediately settling himself down in his chair and uncapping his bottle of ink, picking up his quill and dipping it into the bottle before starting to write on a blank sheet of paper.

_I will head there at once._

He sets his quill back down and blows on the paper, picking it up and waving it a little to let the ink dry out before rolling it up and handing it to the pigeon, who naturally takes it by its beak. With a smile, he gingerly picks up the bird and walks back to the window, and, with a careful toss, the pigeon is back on its wings and flying back towards the sea.

Feeling much less exhausted now, he quickly makes his way to his closet and pulls out the simple, loose white button down shirt Minho had bought from the city and had given to him as a present yesterday—one Seungmin really found himself liking, compared to all his other carefully tailored clothes that felt much too stuffy for his liking, despite having worn them all his life.

He changes into it along with a pair of black trousers, in exchange for the pristine white one he had previously been wearing. He then faces the large mirror beside the closet and lifts a hand, messing up his perfectly styled hair before grinning.

He jumps a little when he hears a knock on the door, but relaxes instantly after hearing Minho's voice, saying, "Permission to enter, Your Highness."

"Granted," he says, already striding his way to the door to open it himself anyway, laughing at the sight of his butler chasing after the door's knob from outside.

With a shake of his head and a smile, Minho steps into his room and lets Seungmin close the door before opening his mouth and promptly pausing, eyeing him down. "Your Highness."

Seungmin grins wider. "Yes?"

"You look like a commoner," Minho blinks, brows raised. "Still handsome, I must say, but very much like a commoner."

Seungmin claps his hands in delight. "Perfect."

"I don't suppose you are about to leave the castle wearing that, are you—"

"Yes," he interrupts. "Yes, I am. I quite like it, and it seems easier to ride the horse with this attire as well."

"The horse?" Minho furrows his brows. "Wherever are you headed, Your Highness?"

"The sea," he answers easily. "Walking would take much longer, and I must head there immediately. Now, what was it you came here for?"

"Ah, yes," Minho blinks and nods in realization, reaching into his coat and pulling out an envelope before handing it to him with both hands. "His Majesty would like you to read this letter from the Lupus Kingdom."

Seungmin eyes the wolf emblem on the letter's royal blue wax seal as he slowly takes it, before he heads to his bed and leaves it on his nightstand. "I will read it later."

Minho has a knowing look as Seungmin makes his way past him and towards the door, but he doesn't say anything, which Seungmin is grateful for. "Fetch me my horse."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Seungmin halts his horse right by the shore's end of the dock, stepping down and briefly petting its head with a smile before turning around and searching for any sight of the merboy, making his way to the other end.

He sees no sign of the merboy on his way there—however, just as he reaches the end of the dock, he jumps back in surprise at the sudden splash of water in front of him, seemingly coming from under the dock, and presumably having followed the sounds of his steps just to greet him in time.

Surely enough, the same merboy from last night emerges from the water and flashes him a beautiful smile—and _oh,_ how gorgeous he is under the sunlight.

Seungmin instantly drops down to his knees for a closer look, mouth slightly falling open in awe.

The merboy's skin is relatively pale, but his plump lips are flushed a pretty pink. His hair had the colour of ash; dark, with streaks of blue here and there, glistening under the light. There are specks of small, blue scales that almost look like large, translucent glitter along his eyelids and below his eyes, barely visible, had it not been for the sun reflecting on the merboy's face.

He catches himself staring and snaps out of it quicker this time, and he opens his mouth to apologize once again, until he finds himself pausing and closing it.

The merboy had been mirroring Seungmin's own expression, staring up at him with big, curious eyes and slightly parted lips, his gaze trailing from Seungmin's shirt, face, and up until his hair—before shifting back down to meet his gaze, his blue eyes starting to glow softly.

Seungmin silently wonders what it means.

"You are absolutely stunning," he murmurs, and the way the merboy blinks at his compliment in surprise and breaks into a bashful smile leaves him thinking that _'stunning'_ is no longer good enough a word.

The merboy politely gestures to him in response, smiling a little wider, and Seungmin blinks for a while before raising his brows in realization and brushing his fringe back sheepishly. "Ah, yes—I'm dressed quite differently today, aren't I?" he muses, briefly glancing down at his shirt. "A very dear friend of mine gave this to me yesterday."

At that, the merboy's smile seems to falter—just a smidgen, the glow in his eyes slowly wavering.

Seungmin wants to ask what it means.

"Have you been waiting too long?" he asks instead, watching the merboy perk up at his question before quickly shaking his head. "Were you able to receive my note?" He receives a couple of happy nods.

Seungmin contemplates after that, blinking to himself in thought, before next, he asks, "May I know your name?"

The merboy stares up at him for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he opens his mouth, as if by instinct, then closes it again in realization and tilts his head. Seungmin's fingers start drumming along the wooden surface. "Well—I've come to notice that you happen to write in the same language as we do, and—may I ask you to write your name? I could," he pauses, looking back towards the shore, "I could fetch you a leaf and—"

He stops when he sees the merboy shaking his head with a dismissive wave, smiling before glancing up at the sky and placing his forefinger and thumb into the sides of his mouth, whistling sharply.

Seungmin becomes taken aback for a moment—it's the first sound he's hearing from the merboy, after all—but he turns more surprised when a pigeon comes flying towards them with a dried leaf in its beak, placing it down on the dock in front of the merboy, who gently pats the bird's head with a lithe finger before it flies away.

The merboy picks up the leaf and hands it to him, and he takes it, albeit confused, watching the merboy dive into the sea. Blinking, he scoots closer to the edge of the dock and seats himself by the right corner, letting his feet dangle below as he stares down and waits.

Not a minute later, the merboy emerges back up from the water, holding something in his hand. Seungmin recognizes it as a seashell—a slightly different kind, pointed on one end and its structure shaped up into a long spiral. "Is that... A worm snail shell?"

The merboy nods happily, hoists himself up on the dock on his arms and holds his hand out to him, and Seungmin hands him the leaf right away, watching the merboy start to write onto it with the shell, as if it were a quill.

"Fascinating," he whispers, curiously taking a closer look and seeing black ink—presumably that of a squid's, naturally coming out of the tip of the shell as the merboy writes carefully and with concentration, tongue peeking out of the corner of his lips. Seungmin suddenly finds the merboy's actions much more fascinating.

The merboy soon finishes and picks up the leaf, handing it to Seungmin for him to read before submerging back into the water along Seungmin's feet.

Seungmin tilts his head, mentally reading the name a few times first.

"Hyunjin..." he drawls out, pausing when he sees the merboy brightening up and nodding vigorously. "Hyunjin is your name?" He's responded with another nod, and he glances back down at the leaf in his hand, staring at the foreign writing after the name. "I don't think we have this... letter, in our kingdom," he says, showing it to the merboy and pointing at it with his forefinger.

Hyunjin tilts his head, pursing his lips thoughtfully before raising his brows and quickly pointing to his chest.

Seungmin knits his brows, glancing between the merboy's chest and the leaf for a few times. "This... means chest?"

Hyunjin shakes his head immediately and mirrors Seungmin's expression, lightly pacing in the water as he seems to think.

Seungmin presses his lips together for a while, hesitating, before he finally gives in. "If I may ask, under what circumstances are you able to speak?"

The merboy stops and turns to him, lightly biting on his lower lip in hesitance, before carefully grabbing onto the dock in between Seungmin's knees and hoisting himself up so that they're face to face.

Seungmin widens his eyes slightly at the proximity—he looks _so_ much more gorgeous up close—then he widens them even more, when Hyunjin lifts up a hand to gingerly graze the tips of his fingers along Seungmin's lips, pauses, and taps on his own lips with a bashful smile.

 _Oh,_ he blinks, feeling his lips still tingling from the gentle touch. He stares back into Hyunjin's lovely, blue eyes starting to glow softly once more, the specks of blue on his face glimmering so prettily in the light, and—

And, well. He certainly wouldn't oppose to kissing this beautiful creature in front of him.

Not at all.

Except when he comes back to his senses, Hyunjin is already back in the water and swimming behind one of the wooden pillars below him, peeking up at him shyly—and, with an embarrassed flush on his cheeks, Seungmin comes to realize how he is, in reality, more open to the idea of the merpeople's conditions than the merboy himself.

"Well, uh," Seungmin coughs, awkward, hand coming up to rub his nape sheepishly. "I haven't introduced myself, have I?"

Hyunjin peers up at him and slowly comes out of hiding, shrugging his shoulders with a small smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

"My name is Seungmin," he continues, then he stills, blinking owlishly at the merboy when he sees him silently mouth his name at the very same time. "Wait, you know of—"

Hyunjin nods, smiling a bit wider, seemingly hopeful, and Seungmin finds himself in his thoughts for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Ah, you must have heard seamen or fishermen speak of me, haven't you? Since you know of my birthday as well."

Hyunjin stares up at him and seems to deflate for a second before nodding and placing a hand over his chest, briefly lowering his head—a gesture of respect to a prince.

"I—no, please," he says softly, shaking his head and watching the merboy glance up at him again. "I'd like to feel like a normal person around someone, for once," he murmurs, before he suddenly perks his head up with an idea. "Would you like to sit beside me?"

Hyunjin tilts his head questioningly, but he doesn't seem to be disagreeing.

Seungmin purses his lips, drumming his fingers along the wood once more. "It's just... I'm looking down at you from up here. It's as if I'm sitting on a throne again."

He sees the way Hyunjin's eyes soften as he nods, flashing him an understanding smile before grabbing onto the dock once more, lifting himself up. Seungmin quickly goes to help him right away, carefully placing his hands under the merboy's arms to swiftly hoist him up—however, the action seems to jerk Hyunjin in surprise, and before he realizes it, the merboy is falling right on top of him.

Seungmin is unable to stop the grunt he lets out at the sudden weight of the merboy, and the latter immediately pulls back with wide eyes, flailing a little in silent panic.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he quickly reassures, and Hyunjin stops flailing, but his eyes are still clearly showing much worry as he stares down at Seungmin, brows creased.

And Seungmin does a double-take, when, for a split-second there, he could have sworn he saw tears flooding up the merboy's eyes—but they've completely vanished.

It must have been a trick of the light, he muses.

Hyunjin then flips himself off of Seungmin and finally gets to settle down beside him, bringing his hands up to his flushed face. Seungmin slowly sits up as well, watching over him curiously before curling his lips up into an endeared smile at the sight.

Hyunjin's head whips around to face him again, blinking rapidly, and the pink on his cheeks significantly darkens as he stares at him, eyes glowing once more. He starts to look confused, patting along his cheeks, forehead and neck, brows knitted together.

Seungmin slowly raises his brows in realization. "You must be incapable of blushing underwater, aren't you?"

Hyunjin looks even more confused at that, and when Seungmin laughs in amusement, his complexion turns visibly darker, the red reaching up to the tips of his ears. "We call it a blush. Your face heats up when you're embarrassed."

Hyunjin widens his eyes, and soon, he's hiding his face in his hands, curling up into himself in embarrassment.

Seungmin's lips curve up into a fond grin, finding himself scooting closer towards Hyunjin's side before gently prying one of the latter's hands off his face and holding it, interlocking their fingers and watching the merboy slowly uncurl himself and peer up at him shyly, cheeks still flushed as he accepts Seungmin's hand in a gentle hold.

"Forgive me for being too forward," he starts, giving the merboy's hand a small squeeze. "But you really are a lovely one."

He ends up letting out another hearty laugh, when Hyunjin ducks down and hides his face against Seungmin's arm flusteredly.

With the restriction from asking how, why and what, Seungmin learns only a handful of things about Hyunjin and the merpeople. He thinks the merboy probably wouldn't oppose to writing his answers down, but Seungmin can tell from the way he very carefully wrote his name down that he likely isn't used to it.

But Seungmin doesn't mind the silences every now and then, finding comfort in them. The merboy's company alone makes his heart jump in joy.

He learns that humans don't know of their existence. Seungmin is unable to ask why Hyunjin lets himself be seen by him.

He learns that the crown of seashells on his head really _did_ mean royalty. Seungmin finds it nice that they're both princes; he could use a companion who can understand the burdens he carries on his shoulders, for a change.

Most merpeople do love singing, like he's read in the books. He asks if all of them are naturally born great singers like he's heard of as well, but gets mildly surprised and amused when Hyunjin quickly points at himself and shakes his head, giggling.

Merpeople can do sorcery, and Hyunjin proves it by showing him the note Seungmin had sent him—but had been turned into cloth instead of paper now, and when he curiously asks if it's because he wanted to be able to keep it with him underwater as well, his response is a shy nod and a much delightful little blush.

Without having to ask, he learns that Hyunjin likes holding hands, if the way he holds onto Seungmin's hand a little tighter whenever Seungmin's grip unconsciously loosens is anything to go by. He also becomes aware of the scar on the palm of Hyunjin's other hand, when the latter curiously reaches up to try touching Seungmin's hair, fascinated by its state of being completely dry instead of damp or wet.

Hyunjin points towards the sky when it starts getting a little dark, then at the castle and Seungmin's horse after. Confused, Seungmin knits his brows for a while—they had been together at a much later hour last night—until Hyunjin smiles an amused smile and points towards the sky once more.

"Ah," he snaps his fingers, clicking his tongue quietly. "I haven't brought with me a lamp. How intelligent of me," he mutters, and just then, his stomach lets out a loud growl. Flustered, he clears his throat when Hyunjin giggles silently at him. "I suppose I do need to have supper soon..."

Hyunjin nods vigorously, urging him to hurry and go, and Seungmin can't help jutting his lower lip out at that. "You seem very eager to make me leave."

The nodding stops, and then it turns into a frantic shaking of the head, the merboy's eyes wide and panicked. Seungmin laughs, tentatively lifting up a hand, before willing himself to rest it carefully along Hyunjin's cheek, stopping the merboy's movements with an endeared smile and mentally reveling in the way the latter's cheek instantly warms into his palm. "In that case, may I see you again tomorrow?"

Hyunjin pauses, gazing up at him apologetically as he slowly shakes his head. Seungmin frowns a little in disappointment. "Royal duties?" A nod. "Perhaps some other day, or night, then? You could... write me?" he asks, hopeful.

Hyunjin's face lights back up, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiles and nods happily.

"Great," Seungmin breathes quietly, mirroring the merboy's smile with a soft one and letting the pad of his thumb gently run along the specks of light blue scales on the apple of Hyunjin's cheek, watching the latter's eyes glow softly under his gaze.

 _One day,_ he tells himself.

One day he'll learn what it means.

"Have you read the letter I had your butler send you," his father asks him over dinner, later, tone clearly already expecting a yes.

Seungmin takes his time chewing and swallowing his food before picking up his glass, drinking his water as slowly as possible without being too blatant of his stalling.

He had completely forgotten all about that letter. He already knows what it is, but he thought, maybe if he doesn't open it, it wouldn't feel so real.

Setting his glass back down, however, he instead answers with a firm, "His name is Minho."

He can see the way his father's jaw clenches from across the table, and though, growing up, he's become brave enough to act "disrespectful" towards his father countless of times, it still takes everything in him not to shrink into his seat everytime he sees the disappointed look on his face.

He can't recall the last time he saw his father smiling anymore.

"That was not what I asked."

Maybe if his mother were still alive, it wouldn't be this way. Maybe he'd still care about Seungmin and love him like he used to all those years ago.

It's those maybe's that he fears he'll never learn the answers to and leave him wondering about for the rest of his life.

Seungmin quietly sets down his cutlery. "I'm awfully tired. I will retire to my room now," he says, not looking his father in the eyes as he stands up from his seat, food barely touched—but he's lost all appetite. "You must excuse me."

The loud clank of cutlery against porcelain stops him from making a move to walk away. "It's _please, excuse me,_ son."

Seungmin is completely aware of his behavior. For the past couple of years—maybe even longer, his belief had gradually turned into that perhaps, if he's infuriating enough, his father would actually see how poorly he's been raised ever since his mother died. It's clear to him that it hadn't really been working very well, but at this rate, Seungmin would rather hit his head with a brick a thousand times than have to behave.

"Read the letter," his father demands. "That is an order."

Seungmin can't remember when he started being treated as more of a soldier and less like a son.

"I don't have to read it to know what's inside," he answers, unable to stop his voice from raising slightly in frustration. "I have _just_ come of age yesterday. Marrying this early is ridiculous."

"Not another word!" yells his father, slamming a hand down the table as he stands. "You will meet their prince in three days and you _will_ marry into their kingdom. That is not a request."

Seungmin stills, turning on his heel and finally meeting his father's stern gaze with a betrayed one, eyes wide and hurt. "Marry _into_ their kingdom..." he knits his brows, rapidly blinking back the tears already clouding his vision.

Was he never deemed worthy enough to stay?

Seungmin forces down the lump in his throat. "If you wanted to get rid of me so badly, you should have disowned me long ago. I can't believe you waited fifteen years just to do that," he laughs bitterly; a little shakily, forcing himself not to scoff when he sees his father's demeanor visibly falter at his statement for the first time in ages.

Seungmin turns and walks away. "You must think your life would have been easier if I had just died with mother."

Minho quickly strides after him from where he had been guarding outside the dining hall as soon as he steps out, following behind him quietly until just before they reach Seungmin's room, before catching his wrist to stop him in his tracks and pulling him into a warm, tight embrace.

Seungmin melts into it and quietly pleads for Minho to stay the night.

Misbehaving around his father may no longer bother him, but Seungmin would never let himself be any less like the prince he was raised to be in the eyes of his kingdom—much less in the eyes of other kingdoms.

So he travels to Lupus and meets the prince.

He doesn't find anything to dislike about him; the prince is probably one of the friendliest royalties he's ever met. The man is easy to get along with, and though Seungmin is yet to see him as a potential spouse, he can see him becoming a really good friend, at the very least.

The arrangement his father had made with the other kingdom had apparently been for Seungmin to stay three whole nights under their care, both princes' parents agreeing that it would be ideal for him to become familiar with both the castle and the other prince as much as possible, as if their marriage is already decided.

The fact that it's only a few nights, though, and he already wishes to come back to his own kingdom—not feeling the least bit at ease in another—only makes it feel much less encouraging to marry.

"Isn't it preposterous how it crossed my mind that I might rather starve in the streets of Cerasus than be married and live here?" he voices out to Minho, sighing as he moves towards the edge of the tub to fold his arms over it and rest the side of his head into them, staring across the pristine white bathing room he'd been accommodated with along with the guest room connected to it.

He feels just a bit lonely not seeing his little shelf display like he always does back in his own bathing room at home, where he had been keeping all the pretty, blue seashells Hyunjin's given him. It's something he's grown accustomed to all these years; he had always loved the sea and would often be reminded of it whenever he bathed, and staring at his collection of shells never failed to make him feel a certain kind of peace and happiness inside.

The absence of it makes him want to see the beautiful merboy again even sooner.

"Seungmin, if you keep moving you'll get soap in your eyes," Minho huffs, shifting his stool for the fifth time that evening to follow after him from outside the tub and continue lathering the soap on Seungmin's hair. "I simply don't understand why the king would want to be left in Cerasus all on his own."

Seungmin refrains from answering to that and stays silent for a moment, before glancing up at the older male and asking, quietly, "Minho, do you hate the sea?"

Minho briefly pauses, fingers working their way through Seungmin's locks a little slower now. "No, I do not hate the sea. I don't particularly like it either, however. Why do you ask this out of the blue?"

"I was only wondering if I'm... odd," murmurs Seungmin, sitting back upright and closing his eyes to let Minho rinse the soap out from his hair. "I know it took your parents away and... my mother as well, but I still love the sea just the same."

"I am aware. It's why you love baths so much." He can hear the smile in Minho's voice, even as he has to keep his eyes closed while the latter proceeds to pour water onto his head. "You are not odd, Seungmin. Silly, but not odd," Minho chuckles, tapping a gentle finger on Seungmin's nose to let him know he's finished.

Seungmin opens his eyes and smiles back at Minho, reaching up to playfully poke a wet finger onto the latter's nose as well, effectively making it scrunch up. Seungmin laughs. "I wouldn't love baths if I didn't have you with me."

Minho gives him a soft grin. "Like how you wouldn't wish to live here because you don't have the sea with you."

Seungmin's smile grows a bit smaller as he nods slowly. "I find home in the sea. Mother always loved telling me stories about it. I've made a friend there, too."

Blinking, Minho is silent for a few seconds before asking, "The merboy?"

"Hyunjin," he says, grinning as he recalls the way the merboy had so carefully written his name down. "His name is Hyunjin."

In spite of the exhausting, long journey back home, the familiar sight of pieces of leaves left by the narrow space between his bedroom window and its sill—along with the ones scattered on the floor below it—instantly replaces Seungmin's dull expression into a bright one, immediately making his way inside with big strides.

He gingerly picks up each of them one by one, careful not to have them crumble in his hands before placing them down on his desk, and with a quick gander at the difference in their appearances, he makes out the order in which they were sent.

He first reads the two driest leaves among them, and the other two, less brittle ones after.

_Will you be coming to the dock today?_

_I see you are away. I shall come back tomorrow._

_Have you returned, now?_

_Tomorrow, I will wait once more._

And then, Seungmin bites down on his lower lip at the lone, recent one, with hints of green still visible around the center—presumably from yesterday, fighting back a huge smile as his hand finds its way to his chest.

_Is it strange that I am eager to see you again soon, prince?_

All his plans to sleep the day away are discarded in a heartbeat, immediately writing back to the merboy—and, to his delight, when he opens his window, recalls the sound of Hyunjin's whistle and mimics it the way he remembers it, a pigeon comes flying right to him in a matter of seconds, taking his rolled up note into its beak.

After a tiny, finger-pat on its head and a careful toss, he sends the bird back into the sky with a smile.

_I will be at the dock this afternoon. Please wait for me, fair prince._

_P.S. It isn't strange. It is quite endearing._

Later, when he's finally riding on his horse by the shore and the dock is already coming into view, he slows down just a fraction, feeling a little sheepish at the fact that he's there much earlier than he's supposed to, thinking maybe Hyunjin hasn't even gotten to read his note yet, at this time.

But then he hears a splash; a distinct sound he had somehow gotten familiar with, significantly different from that of a person's dive or simply of the crashing waves, and as his attention is promptly brought towards the sea, the sun is still bright and high enough to reflect almost blindingly on the familiar figure's shining, blue scales.

With a trained whip, he speeds up right away, arriving at the shore's end of the dock in under a minute and halting his horse, stepping down and petting it gently on the head before spinning around and _sprinting_ his way to the other end.

The waters are high today, just about two feet below the wooden dock, and his smile grows bigger as he's able to see the merboy perking up at the sight of him from afar, his blue eyes wide in delight as he quickly swims around in small circles, seemingly out of excitement, waiting for him to arrive.

Seungmin instantly drops to his knees the very second he gets there, slightly out of breath as he flashes Hyunjin a wide, toothed smile, hand coming up to his head in an attempt to fix his disheveled hair in a rather unrefined manner as he breathes out a soft, "Hi."

Hyunjin's eyes go a little wider and suddenly start glowing as he stills in the water, blinking several times up at Seungmin while a hand comes up to rest on his own chest.

Seungmin cocks his head aside, concerned. "Is... something the matter?"

A soft smile slowly makes its way to the merboy's face, though, and he shakes his head in reply before he holds onto the dock and hoists himself up easily, his arms folded against the wooden surface and chin resting atop them as he tilts his head slightly to the side, staring up at Seungmin and breathing out a dreamy little sigh.

Seungmin blinks down at the merboy, letting out a startled, delighted laugh in realization. "My, aren't you a forward one, Your Highness."

But Hyunjin merely raises a brow at him with a grin, and Seungmin is immediately reminded of his own advances towards the merboy, so he returns the grin with a sheepish one. "Touché."

Hyunjin giggles up at him, eyes turning into crescents and his tail swishing lazily along the water behind him.

The adorable sight somehow reminds Seungmin of the occasional, little princesses he meets during certain royal events, and when he voices out his thoughts, Hyunjin breaks into a bright smile and _preens._

Perhaps Seungmin is a little gone for the merboy.

"Won't you come sit beside me?" he grins, arms already outstretched and ready to help the merboy up.

Hyunjin brightens up and hoists himself up even further, letting himself be helped by Seungmin onto the surface, and this time, he's able to settle down beside him properly. (Not that Seungmin would ever be opposed to the idea of having the merboy in his arms again.)

To his surprise, the first thing Hyunjin does is scoot closer to his side until their shoulders are touching, and he lifts a hand to brush Seungmin's fringe back with his fingers in the gentlest touch, staring up at him admiringly.

Seungmin's heart races as he whispers, "Missed me that much, fair prince?"

Hyunjin looks off to the side as he carefully retreats his hand, nodding shyly and idly swinging his pretty tail below the dock. Seungmin bites the inside of his cheek, grin threatening to form on his lips before he finds the spine in him to wrap an arm around the merboy's waist, immediately catching the latter's attention.

Hyunjin doesn't show any signs of resistance, however, merely blinking up at Seungmin and flushing a delightful shade of pink, before slowly leaning onto his side and, to his joy, resting his head onto Seungmin's shoulder. It only causes Seungmin to feel even bolder, tightening his hold around the merboy. Never mind that his clothes are getting wet.

"I see you aren't wearing your crown today," he remarks.

To his amusement, Hyunjin sucks in a small gasp, seemingly not having realized it himself as he reaches up to pat around his head. Seungmin finds himself laughing at that before flashing him a smug grin. "I don't suppose you were too excited to see me that you've forgotten it, were you? It _is_ quite early."

The merboy's ears redden as he lifts a lithe hand up to hit Seungmin lightly on the chest, flustered, hiding his face into the crook of Seungmin's neck. Seungmin laughs even louder and throws his head back, aware that he's hit a bullseye.

"Well, I am early too," he chuckles. "It has been a week since we last met, after all. Forgive me for not writing to you before I left to visit another kingdom; I only learned today how, and—speaking of which, were you able to receive my note?"

Hyunjin perks up a little and nods, flashing a wide smile up at him before reaching up and giving Seungmin's head a couple of soft pats, as if telling him he'd done a good job. Endeared, Seungmin gingerly takes the merboy's scarred hand into his and interlocks their fingers together, resting it in between them with a smile.

"Is it... strange," he starts, a bit hesitant, briefly nibbling down his lower lip, "how fond I am of you when this is only the third time we're meeting?"

Head still rested on Seungmin's shoulder, Hyunjin shifts slightly to stare up at him with a small smile, and even as the merboy only shakes his head in response, there's this certain look in his eyes that tells Seungmin he must have wanted to say something more.

Seungmin, however, is not one to impose. Despite the merboy's apparent signs of interest in him as well, he figures the merpeople must consider kissing just as intimate as the humans do.

So he settles for spending the rest of the afternoon with Hyunjin the same way he did before, doing his best to learn as much as he can about the merboy, who is still more than happy to answer every single question he asks.

He learns that Hyunjin is the same age, only older than him by some moons. With a lucky guess, he finds out that it is also at this age that he is granted less restrictions to be outside of the palace as well.

His family consists of his father and an older brother—and Seungmin deeply apologizes, when he finds out he hasn't a mother as well, which Hyunjin dismisses with a gentle pat along Seungmin's cheek.

Much to his envy—after spending quite a while trying to explain the idea to the puzzled merboy—he learns that arranged marriages don't exist within their kind. Hyunjin just knits his brows in confusion, narrows his eyes, and with a strangely adorable and tiny snarl, he shakes his head. (Seungmin has to take a moment to push away thoughts of kissing the snarl away and collect himself.)

He learns that the foreign letter that Hyunjin had previously written after his name before was actually a symbol for a heart. Seungmin doesn't understand the purpose of writing it after one's name, but he saves the question for another time.

His favourite thing he learns today, however, is how Hyunjin behaves when he gets sleepy.

After running out of questions to ask, Seungmin decides to talk about what it's like to live on land instead, wanting to let the merboy learn about them as well. As he does, he notices the weight of Hyunjin's head on his shoulder gradually getting heavier, and when he turns to look at their reflection in the water, the merboy's staring up at him with dazed eyes, blinking slowly in a most adorable manner, and soon, Seungmin feels the merboy's tail coiling gently around his calves from below the dock in this _incredibly_ endearing form of cuddling.

Seungmin has to take another second to stop himself from kissing Hyunjin right then and there.

He lets the merboy sleep, and, after moments of watching over the latter's even breathing, presumably completely asleep, he gives in and leans down carefully to plant a soft kiss atop Hyunjin's head.

When Seungmin looks back at their reflection, he doesn't miss the small smile on the sleeping merboy's face and the content little sigh he lets out.

"He's so enamoring, Minho," Seungmin breathes out softly, the paperwork on his table long since forgotten and the ink on his quill likely already drying, as he instead stares off into space, chin rested in his palm. "I've never met someone so... delicate. So precious."

Minho turns around from where he's busied himself dusting the books on the shelves of the library and eyes Seungmin. "Yesterday had only been the third time you've met him, had it not?"

Seungmin blinks and finally meets Minho's gaze. "Yes."

Minho seems to ponder for a few seconds before he quietly asks, "Are you certain he is a merboy, Seungmin?"

Seungmin knits his brows. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Minho starts, walking towards another shelf with a thoughtful expression. "I did take the liberty of reading about the merpeople ever since you've met Hyunjin, and around the same section of books, I've come across another rather... concerning kind. Similar to merpeople. Frankly, I am a little worried."

Seungmin straightens up, setting his quill down, concerned. "What is there to be worried about?"

Minho doesn't respond right away, pulling out a relatively thin book from the shelf—much like one of Seungmin's journals—before making his way towards Seungmin's table and quietly placing it down in front of him.

"Have you ever heard about sirens?"

At that, Seungmin's heart stops.

He doesn't understand why.

"... No," he answers, uncertain, an alarmed and puzzled frown on his face as his wide-eyed gaze is trapped into the illustration of what he presumes to be 'sirens' on the cover of the book.

They look like merpeople at first glance.

But their teeth are pointy and sharp and their fingers are webbed and clawed; the dull-coloured scales of their tails crawl up from their hips to their waist and up until the sides of their face, making them appear _terrifying,_ along with the blade-like fins protruding out of either sides of their lower half; they have what looks to be a sharp, piercing stinger in between their tailfins; and their eyes are eerily white, where Hyunjin's are blue.

"They look..." Seungmin hesitates.

"Dangerous," Minho finishes for him with finality. "They are."

He tears his eyes away from the book to meet Minho's, quietly adding, "Nothing like Hyunjin."

The other male pauses at that before pursing his lips aside. "You mentioned he can do sorcery. Sirens have the power to change form and lure humans into infatuation, Seungmin, and then they _kill_ them."

"Why ever would he want to kill me?" he laughs a little, shaking his head incredulously. "Even if he _is_ a siren, then perhaps he could have simply changed form so he wouldn't appear so fearsome."

"Your Highness," Minho addresses firmly, his look stern. "You haven't known him for very long. Heed my concern, prithee, you must be careful. The sea alone has proven itself harmful; creatures like Hyunjin living in it can only tell me how more dangerous he could be. If anything bad happens to you, I couldn't possibly _live_ with myself—" he pauses just as his voice starts to raise, before he breathes out through his nose and casts his gaze down.

"I can't let the sea take you too."

Guilt washes over Seungmin.

He's all Minho has left. He should never forget that.

"... Forgive me, Minho," he murmurs, carefully reaching across his table to take Minho's hand in his, gazing up at him with gentle eyes. "I will be careful. For you, I will be."

Relief is evident on Minho's face as his features slowly soften, bowing and gingerly bringing Seungmin's hand up to his lips to press a kiss along his knuckles in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Seungmin interlocks their fingers with a gentle smile. "Minho, in the chance that... I'm unable to find a way out of that marriage," he starts hesitantly, nibbling on his lip, "you would come with me, won't you?"

"My prince," Minho returns the smile, leaning across the table to press a soft kiss onto Seungmin's forehead. "I will follow you even in the darkest depths of the ocean."

Seungmin slowly presses his lips together and holds back a laugh. "You can't swim."

Minho narrows his eyes down at him, lightly bumping his forehead against Seungmin's in a playful manner. "You must know I intended for it to mean I would follow you anywhere."

Seungmin chuckles gleefully and bumps his forehead back against Minho's. "I love you."

At this, Minho leans back a little in surprise—it had always been him saying it first and not Seungmin, after all—before letting out a delighted laugh and shaking his head, fondling with Seungmin's hair.

"I love you as well, Seungmin."

The next few times he meets Hyunjin, though he does become more cautious and careful around the merboy as he's told to be, Seungmin is unable to keep himself from further and further believing instead that Minho's assumptions couldn't possibly be true.

He's read the book about sirens more than three times and nearly has every page engraved into his mind by now—and he simply can't see anything about Hyunjin that could tell him he has ill intentions at all.

If anything, Seungmin's wariness may have even made the merboy a little disheartened, if not sad.

He could tell from the moment Hyunjin had tried to hand Seungmin the shell he uses to write with to let him try it, one day, the pointy end of the shell directed towards him and immediately making him lean back in alert, his hands up and ready to defend himself.

But then the way the merboy's eyes dimmed at his actions, how his face fell as he carefully retreated his hand and looked off to the side... how could Seungmin ever believe Hyunjin would do him any harm?

How could he, when he felt the way Hyunjin trembled so vulnerably in his arms as Seungmin apologized?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes. as if it wasn't already challenging enough for me to make this sound non-modern, hyunjin also can't speak. it really do be like that
> 
> this will most likely be around 3-4 chapters with around the same word count as this chapter and i _really_ thought it'd be two (2) chapters max but then at the last minute i realized i had 9293939 more scenes to write. so. _s weats_
> 
> if it's any reassurance, chapter 2 is currently at 4k words so i hope you look forward to it!!
> 
> —
> 
> please tell me what you think in the comments below!! ♡


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, i know i said i planned to have every chapter to at least have the same length as the first, but after a lot of consideration, the next scenes felt a lot more fitting to be in another chapter 🤔 (also it's been three months and i am very sorry ~~i think this might have lost me a bunch of readers ㅠ~~ but despite my unsurprising slow updates, do rest assured that i would never abandon this! ♡)
> 
> anywho, here's 7.6k words for chapter 2!!

"Until next time, Prince Seungmin."

Seungmin plasters a smile on his face as the other prince takes his hand and presses a kiss onto the back of it, still feeling as odd about the formal gesture as ever. "Have a safe journey, Prince Chan."

He waves when the prince turns around for a last glance before stepping into the royal carriage, and soon, they're off to head back to their kingdom.

It's been two moons of Seungmin visiting Lupus and Prince Chan visiting Cerasus every other week. Two moons of Seungmin growing more and more enamored instead for the prince in the sea.

Two moons of Seungmin being shut out by his father, who only continues to do everything in his power to make the marriage happen as soon as possible.

Having grown somewhat closer, Prince Chan had curiously asked him, once, why Seungmin absolutely _must_ live in Lupus instead of himself moving into Cerasus, especially with Seungmin's widowed father not seeming to have any plans on marrying again. Seungmin could only snort through his nose.

Through their marriage, their kingdoms will unite. What will be known to everyone but himself, his father and Minho is that Seungmin will continue to take part in ruling Cerasus the same time he does Lupus, as he and Prince Chan are expected to do, but he knows.

He knows his father isn't going to let him have anything to do with Cerasus anymore once it happens.

The only thing keeping him from an unbecoming rebellion to get out of this marriage is that tiny bit of hope that he could maybe convince his father to at least let him stay, before it's too late. Because no matter how heavy the burden, he really _had_ always hoped he could become a great ruler to his kingdom.

As heavy as his heart feels, he eventually started thinking that marrying Prince Chan is fine. That he'll agree to anything, as long as he doesn't have to leave the only place he calls home.

"I've cleared your schedule for the whole day to let you rest, Your Highness," states Minho as they walk by the corridors, leading Seungmin back to his room. "You must sleep. I shall wake you at noon for your lunch, after which you must catch up on sleep once more."

"No," Seungmin shakes his head, the action causing him to sway a little in his steps, having been terribly sleep deprived for the past couple of days. "I will sleep this morning. In the afternoon, I will head out."

There's silence from Minho for a moment, only the sounds of their dress shoes clacking against the floor echoing within the high castle walls, until he asks, "Hyunjin, still?"

"Yes. I've been seeing him still," Seungmin quirks his lips up into a miniscule smile, head briefly turning to glance at a wary Minho. "It's been two moons since you've shown me the book, Minho, and if he was anything like them, I'd have vanished by now."

He hears Minho quietly breathing out through his nose. "Very well. Someday, you must let me meet him."

Seungmin's smile grows wider. "Gladly."

They continue to walk in silence then, but after a turn or two, Seungmin finds himself slowing down to a stop by one of the balconies, furrowing his brows and taking a few steps closer as his attention is caught down below by the countless soldiers training outside.

Minho follows after him. "Your Highness?"

"Have we... happened to have a kingdom declare war against us without my knowledge?" Seungmin asks, blinking rapidly as he continues watching the soldiers.

"No, sir."

"Have we always had this many soldiers?"

Minho cocks his head aside. "They _have_ been taking in more men, lately. I wouldn't be surprised, sir," he purses his lips aside, before quietly adding, "the kingdom would certainly be more vulnerable if the king were to stand his ground and really let himself rule here on his own."

At that, Seungmin pauses, briefly closing his eyes before he finally turns away from the balcony, silently resuming their walk back to his room.

_Dearest prince, I was wondering if you might be so gallant as to let me go to the village with you today._

_I've always wanted to, but I've never been._

Seungmin stares at the two leaves on his desk, glancing down at the heart symbols on the bottom of each of them (Hyunjin had resorted to signing the notes with it instead, after he'd started becoming more used to writing and having little to no space left for his name any longer), before sharing a thoughtful look with the innocent pigeon waiting and standing there by his bottle of ink.

Lately, Seungmin's settled for telling the merboy about humans and life on land instead, not having as much questions possible as there is for Hyunjin to answer without speaking of other things beforehand. He thinks that may have been why the merboy has grown interested in experiencing it himself.

Only, Seungmin never really clearly learned that Hyunjin would have the kind of sorcery powerful enough to let the merboy become able to be on land.

 _Sirens have the power to change form,_ Minho's voice echoes in his head.

Almost instantly, Seungmin shakes the thought away and carefully picks up the leaves, placing them in the box he had been using to collect all the notes he's been receiving from the merboy, before finally starting to write back.

_It would be my honor to escort you. I will be there in a moment._

The sun is high and bright when he nears the dock.

Though Seungmin spots a fraction of Hyunjin's figure already perched up on the wooden surface from afar, he finds it strange that for once, he isn't seeing the merboy's royal blue scales brightly glimmering under the sun like he's grown used to—

Until he doesn't.

Widening his eyes, he fastens his horse's pace and quickly arrives there with a much too abrupt halt, nearly falling off the saddle as he tries to step down at the same time before deftly taking the leather sack he'd brought along with him and running towards Hyunjin.

Hyunjin's face brightens up when he sees him, but soon turns his expression into a concerned one as Seungmin hastily fishes out a set of clothes from the sack on his way there.

"Goodness, I—" he kneels down right by Hyunjin, out of breath, wide eyes darting all about the latter's bare, human form.

Hyunjin has perfectly turned his tail into a pair of legs, there isn't a single scale to be seen anywhere—not even the small ones along the apples of his cheeks—and had his eyes not remained blue, Seungmin might have even thought twice and wondered if it really is Hyunjin.

It takes him a moment or two staying stunned before he finally stops staring and returns to his senses, worried eyes glancing back up into Hyunjin's. "You simply must wait for me before you change form next time, fair prince."

Protruding his lips out and knitting his brows into a confused frown, Hyunjin tilts his head innocently.

"It's just," Seungmin breathes, proceeding to unfold the pair of trousers he'd brought along and starting to carefully dress the merboy, handling each bare foot with a gentle hand. "It isn't very... common, to be seen bare here on land."

Turning even more confused, Hyunjin pliantly lets himself be dressed as he narrows his eyes, before letting out a silent, little snort through his nose, probably finding human customs ridiculous. In turn, Seungmin lets out a small, amused chuckle as he unfolds the white blouse next, slipping the merboy's arms into the sleeves before buttoning it up.

Taking out the pair of shoes from the sack after, Seungmin is unable to stop himself from staring at Hyunjin's bare feet in wonder once more, watching the merboy try wiggling his toes a little, before he finally helps him into the shoes, eyeing down Hyunjin's figure again and admiring the way he suits this form so _well._

"I keep saying it," he starts, scooting closer to the merboy and gingerly cupping his cheek, smiling as Hyunjin leans into his touch almost instantly. "But you really are so beautiful, darling."

Hyunjin's face warms into his palm, doe eyes gazing back into Seungmin's before he looks down and shyly tucks his hair behind his ear, a bashful smile on his lips.

Seungmin smiles wider. "You like the name."

He's responded with a slow, shy nod.

Seungmin laughs fondly and takes Hyunjin's hands into each of his, right thumb naturally grazing along the scar on the merboy's left palm. "Shall we get going, then?"

With a firmer, certain nod, Hyunjin lets himself be helped up to his feet, but as soon as his knees straighten, he topples forward.

"Whoa there," Seungmin catches him immediately, strong arms holding him steady and tightening around his waist. Hyunjin flails a bit, hands clutching onto Seungmin's shirt as the tips of his ears redden, peering up at Seungmin flusteredly as his mouth opens and closes speechlessly.

Seungmin laughs good-naturedly. "It's alright, fair prince. I didn't expect you to know how to walk right away," he squeezes the merboy's waist with a cheeky grin, reveling in the way Hyunjin turns a darker shade of pink at how their chests are flushed against each other.

"Worry not. It's nothing a bit of practice can't fix, is it?"

And with that, he picks up the merboy the way a groom would his bride, chuckling when the latter flails again in surprise before throwing his arms around Seungmin's neck, eyes wide as he holds onto him tightly.

"Allow me to carry you to the shore, Your Highness."

He starts making his way towards the other end of the dock then, briefly pausing and slowing down his pace just a smidgen when he catches sight of the merboy peering up at him with beautiful, starry eyes, letting himself gaze back down at Hyunjin with an adoring smile and watching the latter's eyes glow softly.

Sometimes, he feels as if he's already found out what it means.

"Well then," Seungmin holds back a laugh as he gladly catches a frustrated Hyunjin in his arms for the nth time later that afternoon, "I never would have imagined teaching a merboy how to walk could be this much enjoyable."

He receives a half-hearted smack on his chest in response and simply holds the blushing merboy tighter to his chest with a delighted grin.

(And later, as they finally ride the horse together on their way to the village, Seungmin isn't just imagining it when he feels the way his heart flutters at how Hyunjin naturally curls up against his chest and stares up at Seungmin with the most adoring, doe eyes.)

The sun has begun to set when they arrive.

It's when the town is the most lively and beautiful, as he's come to learn from the few times he's visited the village at a similar time. The children are out to play after their school bell had rung and bid them goodbye, the street vendors have finished setting up their stands with food, merchandise and games of merry, and the lanterns are already hung up and brightening the whole town with various, colourful lights.

As Seungmin watches the way Hyunjin lets his eyes gaze around the village in pure, innocent wonder, he realizes it's the first time he's really _seeing_ this sight outside of royal duties as well, and he takes it all in with a deep breath, halting his horse by the livery and carefully stepping down.

Eyes lingering on the cheerful smiles on the townsfolk's faces, hand reaching up to pull the hood of his cape further down right above his eyes to hide his face, his heart aches at the thought of not being the one to lead this kingdom.

With a small shake of his head, he turns back to Hyunjin and reaches his arms out to the boy with a soft smile, the latter easily letting himself be lifted off the horse with flushed cheeks.

"Stay close to me, fair prince," he utters gently, curling an arm around the boy's slim waist. "Walking on ground is a bit different from sand."

And when they finally get to the village (with a bit of difficulty at first, as the merboy has to take a moment to recall how to walk, much to Seungmin's amusement), Hyunjin doesn't need to say anything for Seungmin to know what he wants to ask. His gaze simply stays fixated on that one particular object—leaving Seungmin to lead him to the right path as they walked—until Seungmin explains what it is, before moving on to another foreign object with bigger, curious eyes.

Not once in Seungmin's whole life of expensive education had he ever had trouble explaining what a guitar was and how it worked. (Embarrassed, he carefully tosses more coins into the street musician's guitar case for helping him explain things in much simpler terms before they head off.)

One thing Hyunjin seems to recognize, however, is jewelry. With a few, excited tugs on Seungmin's arm, he points at a certain jewelry stand, immediately catching the vendor's attention, who cheerfully waves them over.

Cautiously tugging his hood further down his face, he guides Hyunjin towards the stand and allows the merboy to wander around the dark-clothed tables a little, letting him slip away from his hold to take a gander at the various trinkets in awe.

And for a while he only stands there watching, a fond smile on his face, until the vendor speaks up.

"Out shopping today, Your Highness?"

Both his and Hyunjin's heads whip around in surprise to look at the vendor, who flashes a friendly smile at Seungmin, after which Hyunjin seems to come to his senses before rubbing at his nape in a sheepish manner.

Seungmin probably would have laughed a little if he weren't wary first.

"Ah, worry not, Your Highness," the vendor waves his hand dismissively, "I haven't any ill intentions, nor will I speak of this to anyone."

"Well... Thank you, kind sir," says Seungmin politely in a hushed tone, glancing around discreetly. "But it would be much appreciated if you could refrain from addressing me as such."

"Oh, yes of course! Of course," chuckles the vendor, shaking his head. "Apologies, sir. It's simply always a delight for us townsfolk to see you visiting here."

The smile that pulls up the corners of Seungmin's lips at the statement turns sad almost immediately.

He's going to leave Cerasus.

The date of the wedding is to be decided soon. Getting his wedding suit tailored comes right after. Sending out invitations to their neighboring kingdoms next.

He might never see this town again.

A gentle hand carefully enclosing around his pulls him out of his reverie, and he turns to see Hyunjin now standing at his side, staring at him with worry in his eyes.

Seungmin feels a pang in his chest.

He might never see Hyunjin again.

"... Don't fret, fair prince," he murmurs in reassurance, nevertheless, knuckles gingerly brushing along Hyunjin's cheek. "I'm alright."

The merboy is unconvinced, however, brows still knitted in concern, but he eventually nods a slow nod and carefully tucks himself into Seungmin's side, letting Seungmin wrap an arm around his waist once more and nestling in just a little closer.

"My," utters the vendor quietly just then, suddenly catching their attention. "Oh, pardon me, sir," he bows to Seungmin until he's responded with a nod, before his eyes curiously settle on Hyunjin's. "It's just that I haven't seen eyes as blue as his in years."

"I see it isn't the first time you're seeing blue eyes," Seungmin remarks with a smile, tightening his hold around the merboy after sensing his discomfort. "You must be fortunate. It was a pleasure to meet you, kind sir. We'll be taking our leave now."

They're a couple of steps into heading off, before the vendor calls out, "Wait—sir!"

A bit startled, they both stop and face the man again, after which the latter proceeds to glance at them back and forth, furrowed brows and slightly squinted eyes seemingly trying to study them for a moment—until they widen in delight, brows now rising up to his forehead.

"Oh, how absolutely wonderful! Please, you must wait," the man crouches down to the ground, starting to quickly rummage through the boxes kept underneath the tables' linen, much to their confusion. "I have something for you."

Briefly sharing a glance with a wary Hyunjin, he turns back and politely says, "We really must be going now, kind sir, you need not trouble yourself. The thought itself is already much appreciated."

"No, please," the vendor breathes out as he promptly stands back up and faces them with a smile, palms opening to reveal a couple of beautiful, matching silver pendants. "I insist."

Briefly blinking for a few times, Seungmin is unable to stop the small chuckle he eventually lets out in realization, hand caressing along Hyunjin's hip to assure him the man means no harm. Hyunjin relaxes in his hold right away, lips curling up into a small, relieved smile at the sight of Seungmin's own before he gently ushers them back closer to the stand, towards the vendor, once again curious.

"These are gifts," the man places each pendant on the table in front of them, and Seungmin's smile grows upon noticing they were in the shape of small, artificial conch shells. "They will bring you good luck."

And he watches the way Hyunjin gingerly picks up the pendant in front of him into his lithe hands, mouth falling slightly open and his big, doe eyes sparkling in wonder, and Seungmin realizes only he understands what the vendor's mistaken them for.

 _Ah, well._ He smiles wryly to himself, picking up the other pendant.

"Thank you for these gifts, kind sir. We shall cherish them always."

It is but a fantasy.

Hyunjin then turns to Seungmin, shyly handing him his pendant with a small blush and hopeful eyes.

... But he can always dream, he thinks, as he finds himself smiling lovingly at the merboy, admiring the way his blue eyes hide behind crescents as Seungmin carefully locks the pendant's chain around his neck.

In his dreams, they're meant to be.

The town square is significantly big enough for them to take about an hour simply strolling around, Seungmin making sure he doesn't walk too quickly to follow Hyunjin's pace. The merboy had gradually learned to walk a little faster, though, if the way he abruptly stops and suddenly detaches himself from Seungmin to excitedly waddle towards a booth says anything.

A glance at the booth, and Seungmin has to cover his mouth with the back of his hand to muffle down an amused laugh.

There's a large fish tank with eels in it, and the man standing behind it is saying, "Come one, come all! Catch as many fish as you can in one minute for ten coins and they're yours!"

Seungmin leisurely follows after Hyunjin, ready to steer the merboy away from what is clearly a hoax.

"Darling, you mustn't..." he trails off, watching Hyunjin crouch to his knees, place both his hands onto the tank and stare at the swimming fish with big, sparkling eyes—and Seungmin slowly comes to a stop behind the merboy, a soft, fond smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

It couldn't ever cost him a fortune to make Hyunjin happy.

Without another thought, Seungmin fishes out ten coins from his pocket and hands it to the vendor. "One round, please."

Hyunjin whips his head up to finally look back at him and Seungmin grins, cocking his head towards the tank. "Have at it, Your Highness."

Hyunjin blinks for a moment before bursting into silent giggles, bright and full of mirth, and Seungmin's smile only grows wider at the lovely sight until suddenly, Hyunjin is standing back up and leaning closer to him before he even realizes it, pressing a featherlight kiss onto his cheek.

He blinks once, twice, a _lot_ more times, and his eyes are wide as Hyunjin leans back with a shy little smile—and his heart just _pounds,_ the lingering feeling of soft lips against his cheek taking his breath away.

He stares longingly at Hyunjin—sweet, beautiful Hyunjin; almost takes a step closer, almost grabs him by the waist and almost gives in to the one thing he keeps wishing for.

Almost.

A large, steel basin is shoved in between them, bringing him back to reality and making him drop the thought immediately.

"Here you are, sir! One round!" the vendor yells enthusiastically from the other side of the tank, unaware of their fleeting little moment.

 _Don't be foolish._ Seungmin lightly shakes his head to himself, returning to his senses, before taking the basin into his hands as he flashes Hyunjin a smile. "I'll hold this for you."

Hyunjin smiles back brightly and nods, turning to face the fish tank, and as soon as the vendor turns the hourglass by the table and yells _'begin,'_ he shoves his hands into the water with a splash, eyes bright and determined as the corners of his lips curve up into a confident little smile.

And then he effortlessly catches one eel, two, five, eight eels, a _dozen_ eels...

_Ah._

Seungmin ducks his head down a bit, laughter threatening to leave his lips. Of course. Merpeople can't be hoaxed with their own game.

There is only joy on Hyunjin's face as he continues to take more eels, quite adorably so, as if he is simply picking them up instead of actually "catching" them, and Seungmin even starts to feel pity for the vendor, who watches Hyunjin with a gaping mouth, eyes darting between him and the falling sand in the hourglass every other second. Seungmin struggles to hold back his laugh.

The basin is relatively heavy in Seungmin's arms once the minute is up. Hyunjin smiles proudly at the vendor before standing back up properly, taking a step back from the tank and bowing in gratitude, naturally reverting to his regal demeanour and leaving Seungmin more than just a little enamored.

Seungmin notices a grill within the booth just then, and he raises his brows, looking back at the still speechless vendor. "I believe this game allows us to have the fish cooked, does it not?"

"... Yes," the man manages to squeak out. "Yes, it does."

Seungmin's voice naturally turns softer as he speaks to Hyunjin this time. "How many would you like to eat, darling?"

Hyunjin happily gestures to the whole basin.

At that, Seungmin blinks for a few times before slowly turning towards the poor vendor and handing him the basin. "Thank you for your services, kind sir."

Of course, he is not heartless, so as they accompany the man while grilling the fish (Seungmin only lets Hyunjin watch the fish be cooked, however, while he helps with grilling), he hands the vendor a pouch full of coins—worth three times as much as all their eels should really cost. The man thanks him about a dozen times, grateful enough to even let Hyunjin happily pick up a couple more eels from the tank to be cooked.

Hyunjin's holding a bunch of skewered grilled fish in his hands soon enough while the others are yet to finish, and he stares at them and carefully sniffles them in wonder—much to Seungmin's amusement—before finally taking a bite, brows slowly raising to his forehead and eyes widening into saucers the longer he chews.

He looks at Seungmin with that same expression, as if asking what kind of sorcery it could be, and Seungmin laughs wholeheartedly as the merboy continues to devour the fish more quickly while still staring at him with that same, astounded look on his face.

Hyunjin's attention is only drifted from Seungmin when the merboy notices a group of children—poor, barefoot little children—peeking over at them from outside the tent of the booth, presumably having been drawn in by the smell of food.

And then Seungmin sees a sight that slowly takes his breath away.

He sees the way Hyunjin slowly stops chewing, glances at all the skewered fish in his hands and at the children, and he sees him walking towards them with careful steps before crouching down in front of them with a gentle smile, handing each of them a skewered fish. He sees how Hyunjin's smile brightens so beautifully when the children's eyes light up in delight as they begin to eat, how his gaze softens as he shakes his head and carefully closes a girl's open palm when she tries to thank him with what little money they have.

Seungmin finds himself placing a hand over his chest, feeling his heart constricting as he watches Hyunjin gingerly wipe each of the children's grimy faces clean with a piece of cloth as they continue to eat, a loving smile on the merboy's face, and he _swears_ he sees a royal mantle draped over Hyunjin's shoulders and a golden crown atop his head.

Wistful, Seungmin stands still, wondering what could have been, if only Hyunjin had been born a prince from the land.

Maybe they could have met in their childhood and become good friends. Maybe Seungmin wouldn't have had to feel so lonely everytime there were royal events, because Hyunjin would have been there right with him. Maybe he could have been celebrating his birthdays more happily.

Maybe his father would have let him marry Hyunjin instead.

Realizing what he'd just thought, Seungmin freezes.

And he ends up letting out a silent, humorless laugh to himself, the hand on his chest fisting tightly into his shirt.

That's what he sees.

The sight of the prince he can only ever dream of marrying.

"It's getting awfully late," he muses, glancing up at the moon. He's definitely missed his dinner at the castle. "We should head back."

Hyunjin nods, habitually holding onto Seungmin's arm despite his ability to walk steadily now even without his support. With a chuckle, Seungmin gladly leads the way back to the livery, and they enjoy their walk in comfortable silence, appreciating the town square's lively, yet peaceful atmosphere.

It's when they're about to pass a group of three maidens does a sudden gust of wind blow past them and push the hood of his cape back completely, revealing his face and immediately catching their attention, all three of them gasping simultaneously.

Cursing quietly under his breath, he swiftly puts his hood back on and ducks his head down, lifting his free hand to hold one of Hyunjin's on his other arm as a silent warning before starting to walk just a little faster, going past them.

Unsurprisingly, however, the maidens start to call after him, and the way they address him _'Prince Seungmin'_ is enough to catch the attention of the other townsfolk nearby. Soon, a small crowd starts to form in front of him, the people cheering in their delight to see him while some maidens are stepping significantly closer towards him with their arms outstretched, fawning over him.

In Seungmin's efforts to keep an unsettled Hyunjin behind him, away from the pushing crowd and all the ruckus, his foot gets harshly stepped on instead and he winces in pain, hissing.

And in one swift movement, the action a mere blur in Seungmin's eyes, Hyunjin lets go of his arm and stands in front of him in a protective stance—and all of a sudden, the air turns ice cold.

The crowd falls into an abrupt silence all at once, eyes no longer on Seungmin but on Hyunjin, looking frightened as they step back.

Perhaps it's the cold air, perhaps it's the way the villagers in front of him look terrified that's stopping him from breathing, but as he stares at the back of Hyunjin's head and dares take a step forward to see, his heart stops.

Hyunjin's eyes are white. Unnaturally bright and glowing.

Seungmin is frozen in place, a strong sense of something terrible and _familiar_ coursing through his veins.

And Hyunjin glares a dangerous and wide-eyed glare, his mouth drawn back in a threatening snarl as he takes a heavy step forward in warning, the air turning even colder as it seems to push the villagers back with a strong gust, making them cower in fear and flee.

Something nearly flashes before Seungmin's eyes—nearly makes him recall something unpleasant.

It's him who forces himself to stop it from coming.

Hand trembling as he reaches out to Hyunjin, he opens his mouth to call the merboy's name, but what comes out instead is a quiet and choked, "Don't go."

Hyunjin finally turns around to face him, and as soon as he sees Seungmin, it's as if everything had been an illusion. His eyes instantly stop glowing, widening in worry, and his expression shows nothing but concern as he walks back to him and gingerly cradles Seungmin's face in his hands, thumbs wiping away his tears.

_Tears?_

Seungmin blinks multiple times, and when he looks back into Hyunjin's eyes, they're big and worried—and blue.

And for a split-second, he could have sworn he saw tears in the merboy's eyes again before they vanished.

Seungmin is unable to understand what he feels.

But Hyunjin's eyes are blue and his hands are gentle as he caresses his cheeks, and it's enough to let himself believe it was all his imagination. That his tears only fell from all the heartache he'd been bottling up.

So he lets it go.

He lets himself cry in Hyunjin's arms without a single word and lets it look like it had been the townsfolk's actions that overwhelmed him to tears.

Still fully clothed, Hyunjin dives into the water and off the dock, later, and takes only a moment before he emerges back up undressed—leaving the pendant around his neck, smiling softly up at Seungmin and handing him the set of clothes that were now magically dry and neatly folded.

Seungmin's arms reach for them as a natural response before he stops short, crouching down and returning the merboy's smile. "I'd like you to keep them."

Hyunjin tilts his head, arms retreating as he blinks up at Seungmin questioningly. Seungmin briefly casts his gaze down to the water, trying not to let his smile falter as he shrugs his shoulders and looks back up. "You know, for next time."

Hyunjin doesn't seem to notice, his lips curling back up into a cheerful smile as he nods and holds the clothes to his chest. Seungmin reaches a hand to lovingly tuck the merboy's hair behind his ear, whispering, "Did you have fun today, Your Highness?"

Hyunjin pauses as his gaze softens, his eyes once again glowing their normal glow, which somehow brings Seungmin a sense of relief. He nods solemnly in reply, lifting a hand to gingerly cup Seungmin's cheek and silently mouthing, _'thank you.'_

Seungmin almost tears up again at the thought of him possibly not getting to hear Hyunjin's voice anymore before he has to leave Cerasus.

Hyunjin is still staring up at him with soft eyes, until he seems to glance at Seungmin's neck before meeting his gaze again, hand moving down from Seungmin's cheek to gently reach into his shirt pocket, fishing out his pendant.

Seungmin blinks as he watches the merboy set the clothes down on the wooden surface and reach up to carefully lock the necklace around Seungmin's neck, mimicking the way he did the same for Hyunjin—only a bit more slowly—before smiling proudly when he finishes.

Seungmin chuckles, fingers toying with the pendant as he grins gratefully at the merboy. "Thank you, fair prince, I'll wear it always. Will I see you again tomorrow?"

At that, Hyunjin nods, holds onto the edge of the dock, lifts himself up a little before catching Seungmin offguard with another soft kiss to his cheek.

Seungmin can only blink rapidly as Hyunjin gathers the set of clothes in his arms and submerges back into the water, flashing Seungmin a sweet smile before starting to swim backwards with an adorable little wave.

Failing to bite back a huge smile, Seungmin waves back until the merboy finally turns around and fully dives into the sea.

His skin tingles where Hyunjin planted the kiss, and he returns to the castle with a lighter heart, letting himself simply be happy in the moment.

The sight that greets Seungmin as he steps into his bedroom doesn't surprise him, but nevertheless, he still is just as displeased.

Sighing inwardly, he steps in and shuts the door audibly to announce his presence to his father standing by his window, the latter taking a moment before turning around to face him.

"You didn't come to dinner," is the first thing he says.

Seungmin doesn't bother explaining himself and stays silent, waiting, blankly staring back at the man as a way of expressing his wish for him to _get out._

He sees his father briefly closing his eyes, presumably to compose himself after Seungmin's blatant rudeness, before his gaze lands on the seashell pendant along his chest, eyes squinting. "... You've gone to town."

Seungmin just wants this to be over with. "I have."

He knows his father realizes he has no intention to explain anything when the man eventually lets out an exasperated sigh. "You have _got_ to stop adoring the sea and everything in it, son." Seungmin's jaw clenches. "I've told you many times, the sea isn't kind. Your love for the sea—"

"—killed my mother, yes, I know, father, alright? I _know,_ " Seungmin snaps, his eyes widening in anger as his hands curl into fists. "I know just how much you've disliked celebrating my birthday—every year for the past _fifteen_ years!"

He sees his father's expression change, about to speak up, but Seungmin doesn't let him.

Not this time.

"I know how you think it had been my fault because I was but a child who so selfishly wished to celebrate his birthday on a ship," he continues, his voice raising uncontrollably. "I know how much you _regret_ granting my wish and I know you're sending me off to another kingdom so you wouldn't ever have to lay eyes on your biggest mistake again!"

"You stop there this inst—"

"Father," Seungmin breathes out a wry laugh, his voice finally turning weary. "Why don't _you_ leave?"

He sees the way his father widens his eyes, and with his last remaining bit of fearlessness left, Seungmin spits, "You wouldn't have to see the stupid sea and your stupid son for the rest of your life."

And that night, for the first time in his twenty-one years of being, his father slaps him across his face.

_How did I have no idea_

_that I needed you_

_My world ended once but began again_

_born from just us two_

_Though it's suffocating me everyday_

_Though I know you're so far, you told me_

_Dear, be brave_

_Always_

Seungmin arrives at the dock an hour earlier than usual the next day, wanting to be away from the castle as soon as he's finished all his duties.

Waiting for Hyunjin, he sits there and stares aimlessly at the water, unmoving, barely noticing the hour passing as he constantly switches between thinking about everything all at once, and then nothing at all.

He nearly doesn't hear the quiet splash from a few feet away, only catching sight of the merboy emerging from the water when he throws his head back and messes up his hair in exasperation—after which he clears his throat, rubs his nape sheepishly and offers the merboy a small smile.

Hyunjin knits his brows in concern as he swims closer to the dock, Seungmin habitually helping him up as soon as he arrives before the merboy settles beside him and gently tilts his head aside in silent question.

Seungmin lets out a long, silent sigh through his nose, briefly pursing his lips before looking down with a wry smile. "I have a lot going on in my mind, fair prince."

Hyunjin looks worried, beady eyes matching his slightly protruded lips as he takes off his crown and sets it down at his side, carefully resting his head onto Seungmin's shoulder and coiling his tail along his calves in a form of comfort.

Seungmin lets his head rest against Hyunjin's and wraps a protective arm around his waist, staring at their reflection in the water with a smaller, silent sigh. "You know," he pauses, thoughtful, "it felt as though my mother could sense my woes. Maybe it was in a dream, but... I think I heard her voice last night. I can't recall it, but she sang me a lullaby."

He glances at Hyunjin's reflection, seeing the merboy already looking back. "Does that sound ridiculous?"

Hyunjin takes a second or two, his expression unreadable, before responding with a shake of his head. He then cuddles closer and takes Seungmin's hand into both of his, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Seungmin takes it as a gesture for him to continue and takes a deep breath.

"My father is making me marry into another kingdom."

He feels Hyunjin still in his hold, sees the way his eyes slightly widen before his gaze slowly shifts down, no longer meeting Seungmin's. His heart instantly feels heavier.

"He—made the arrangements, without telling me," he stammers, forcing back the forming lump in his throat before letting out a shaky chuckle. "The prince is nice and not at all unpleasant but I..." he presses his lips together, speaking more quietly, "I really would have wanted to marry someone I truly loved."

Unable to find it in him to look at Hyunjin, he throws his head back with a forced laugh. "It's silly, isn't it? I've been told all my life that this kind of marriage is my duty as the prince, and yet... I still..."

Seungmin lowers his head and closes his eyes, refusing to cry.

But he feels Hyunjin shifting in his hold, and without him realizing it, his eyes are peeling themselves back open at the feeling of something soft pressing against his lips, and he's met with the sight of Hyunjin's face a mere inch away from his, the merboy's eyes closed.

He doesn't fully register the situation even as Hyunjin leans back and the warm sensation on his lips is gone—until he hears a soft, beautiful voice, saying:

"It isn't."

Seungmin's breath catches in his throat.

He has to blink more than a few times just to see if he's actually still asleep at the castle, waiting for everything to blur out and turn white until he's awake, but then there's a pair of hands cradling his face ever so delicately and caressing his cheeks, and the same, lovely voice says, "It isn't silly to wish for true love, dear prince."

Seungmin feels his heart bloom and flutter all at once, eyes staring into Hyunjin's own blue ones, glowing and full of love, and Seungmin so _desperately_ wants them to happen.

His arms wrap themselves around the merboy's waist and pulls him closer, their foreheads and noses touching, breaths mingling as their eyes fall half-lidded, both staring down at each other's lips. Hyunjin trembles a little in his hold as he moves to wrap his arms around Seungmin's neck this time, delicate and vulnerable, and all Seungmin wants to do is protect him all his life.

"What happens if I kiss you again?" he whispers.

Hyunjin curls his lips up into a soft smile and leans a little closer. "Then I shall kiss you back."

Seungmin brings up a hand and cups Hyunjin's cheek, letting his thumb graze over the merboy's pink, plump lips that he's longed to kiss for so long. They part slightly as Seungmin runs his thumb along his bottom lip, and Hyunjin moves even closer in response, almost pleadingly as the latter's arms try to pull Seungmin a little closer too.

Hyunjin meets him halfway when he closes the distance. His lips are softer than he could have imagined and fuller than they look; Seungmin tilts his head sidewards to perfectly fit their lips together and kiss the merboy wholly, the latter sighing into the kiss and melting into his embrace so pliantly that Seungmin's arms tighten around him on their own.

It's the way his heart races that finally brings his mind peace. Now, he's certain that Hyunjin is all he truly wants. Not the return of his father's pride in him. Not a throne in another land. Not Prince Chan, or anyone else.

_Just Hyunjin._

His eyes open when he feels Hyunjin's lips tremble against his own, bringing him out of his reverie, and he sees the merboy's blue eyes staring right back into his, glowing softly and brimming with tears. He breaks the kiss right away, a gentle hand cupping the merboy's cheek when he realizes it isn't his imagination this time, droplets of tears now rolling down Hyunjin's face.

"Darling," he croons, brows knit together in worry as the merboy's eyes continue to form fresh tears. "What is it?"

But Hyunjin hiccups and shakes his head, letting out an embarrassed little laugh—one that takes Seungmin by surprise and great delight, his heart positively _swelling_ after finally hearing the merboy's pretty laugh for the first time—before leaning back in to place another soft, brief kiss onto Seungmin's lips with an ethereal smile, his teary eyes full of adoration. "I have wished to kiss you for so long, my prince."

_My prince._

Seungmin's lips split into a wide, toothed smile.

"Your prince," he breathes, wiping the merboy's tears away before they meet to share another sweet kiss.

"What is it like," Seungmin pauses, unable to hold back a smile at the reality that he can now hear Hyunjin answer him, "living under the sea?"

Hyunjin idly swings his tail below the dock, staring at the water thoughtfully. "Dark," he says with a smile and a small shrug. "A little dull. I don't often leave the palace to swim where there's more sunlight, but sometimes I go to town. I only wish it was as lively as yours."

It takes Seungmin a moment or three for him to fully take in what Hyunjin just said, nearly getting completely lost in his voice that he's longed to hear for moons, and utterly enamored with the subtle accent he's now picking up from the merboy—his tone a little lovelier, his enunciations a lot more careful and delicate.

"Prince?" Hyunjin calls softly, tilting his head.

Seungmin blinks and clears his throat, rubbing at his nape in a sheepish manner. "Please forgive me, I was captivated hearing you speak. You sound truly divine."

Hyunjin blinks a few times, a bashful smile tugging up his lips as he shyly tucks some of his hair behind his ear. "Where I live, your praise is one that's usually only given to those who sing well."

Seungmin raises his brows and hums. "I'm afraid I can't truly believe you don't sing well unless I hear it myself, fair prince."

Hyunjin bursts into a fit of giggles, the sound undeniably _heavenly_ to Seungmin's ears. "I will save myself that embarrassment for another day, dear prince. My mother was an impressive singer, however; she taught me a lot when I was young."

At that, Seungmin's gaze slowly softens, turning to look at the water and smiling to himself as he's reminded of his own mother, feeling a little sorrowful at their similar fates. "My mother was also an exceptional singer. The people always loved to hear her sing."

Hyunjin quiets, carefully taking Seungmin's hand in his and squeezing it gently before resting his head onto Seungmin's shoulder, his other hand reaching up and lightly toying with Seungmin's pendant against his chest. Almost naturally, Seungmin presses a soft kiss on the crown of the merboy's head in turn.

"What about the merpeople? What are they like?"

Hyunjin breathes out silently, tail lightly swinging once more. "I suppose it isn't very... objective of me to speak of what they're like. Not a lot of merpeople like me for my appearance."

Seungmin's head perks up, looking at Hyunjin's reflection in the water in disbelief. "Your _appearance_?"

Hyunjin giggles at Seungmin before humming in thought, pursing his lips slightly. "They were alright with me when I was little. Growing up, however, they didn't like how I was turning out."

Despite it being an unbecoming demeanour from a prince, Seungmin all but _scoffs._ "Ridiculous. Your beauty is beyond words."

At that, Hyunjin lifts his head from Seungmin's shoulder to look up at him with a playful and flirtish bat of his eyelashes, looking simply _breathtaking_. "You aren't so bad yourself, Your Highness."

Seungmin is so gone for the merboy. "... Well. If you'll excuse me, I shall kiss you now."

Hyunjin eagerly closes his eyes with an adorable little smile and waits.

Absolutely _gone,_ Seungmin concedes, capturing the merboy's lips into a passionate kiss.

Seungmin kneels before the throne with his head down.

"Forgive me for my sudden visit, but I believe it is only appropriate that I appear before you to say what I urgently must, Your Majesties."

From the corner of his eye, he sees Prince Chan taking a tentative step forward. Seungmin can somehow imagine why, if the concerned look on the prince's face earlier when Seungmin arrived and stated his purpose to him says anything.

"Proceed, Prince Seungmin," the queen responds.

Seungmin takes a deep breath and raises his head.

"My decision is resolved. I will not marry into your kingdom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, okay, i may or may not use some terms incorrectly throughout this whole fic despite having done ridiculous amounts of research for what tf do you call the place where you park a horse and _it really do be like that sometimes ok._ (and yes, you really did just read a whole 16.4k words before hyunjin finally started speaking LMAO)
> 
> i like this chapter so much they're just so cute and _fluffy_ and i really hope you guys enjoyed it too!! please do tell me your favourite parts in the comments! ♡

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://seungjin-chan.tumblr.com/ask) | [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/seungjin_chan) | [curiouscat](https://www.curiouscat.me/seungjin_chan)
> 
> check out its twitter hashtag at **#evcu_evwa** for images and music!


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